This invention is directed toward a toothroll assembly for use in a trimming device for removing skin and fat from meat parts, and more particularly toward a toothroll assembly that has a first section adapted to rotate at a first surface speed and a second section adapted to rotate at a second surface speed to accommodate non-symmetric meat parts.
In the meat processing industry it is necessary and desirable to remove the skin and fat from a meat part, such as a pork leg, before separating the muscles for processing. To date, this has been done manually, using knives. Not only does this method require substantial labor, but it is also time consuming and creates safety hazards creating the potential for lacerations and cumulative trauma injuries. Alternatively, automated systems have been used to remove the skin and fat, but these conventional automated systems are unsuited for processing meat parts with certain shapes without leaving patches of skin and/or fat.
Specifically, it is difficult to remove the skin and fat from meat parts that are not flat. In particular, some meat parts have a roughly conical shape, i.e. pork legs. With current art, these meat parts are trimmed to remove skin and fat in layers using a toothroll, shoe and blade. The meat part rotates on the toothroll as the skin and fat are removed from the circumference of the meat part.
This conventional process works well for cylindrical shaped meat parts, but on conical shaped meat parts the skin and fat layer to be removed is longer on the end with the larger diameter and shorter on the end with the smaller diameter. The toothroll removes the skin and fat layer across the length of the meat part at a constant surface speed, so the end of the meat part with the smaller diameter rotates faster on the toothroll than the end of the meat part with the larger diameter, causing the meat part to twist, and adversely affect the trimming performance. Accordingly, a need exists in the art for an improved method and apparatus for removing skin and fat from a meat part.
Therefore, a primary objective of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for removing skin and fat from a meat part that is more effective in trimming skin and fat from a meat part.
These and other objectives will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the following disclosure.